Andy Murray says he would not have been able to play at the level Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic reached in their French Open semi-final on Friday but thinks his absence through injury before Wimbledon may be "a blessing in disguise".

They played the theme to Star Wars at the Stadio Olimpico but there was nothing galactic about Usain Bolt's performance as he was surprisingly defeated by Justin Gatlin in the 100m at Rome's Golden Gala meeting.

Frankie Dettori will be back in action at Epsom on Friday, having finally extricated himself from the restraining grip of French bureaucracy, 12 days after the end of his six-month ban for a cocaine positive.

One day after Victoria Pendleton’s anticlimactic exit from the saddle at Fakenham, opinion among racing professionals was sharply divided on the key question of whether she should now be tried in the furnace of the Cheltenham Festival.